The 49ers’ defense took a devastating injury hit Sunday as star linebacker Fred Warner was carted off the field in an aircast during the first quarter against the Buccaneers.

Warner, a four-time Pro Bowler and already up to 51 combined tackles, was stuck in a cluster of players during a Raachad White run when safety Ji’Ayir Brown appeared to roll over his right leg. 3

The entire 49ers sideline came onto the field as trainers examined him, placed his leg into an aircast and drove him off the Raymond James Stadium field.

Warner, 28 and a third-round pick in 2018, had become the centerpiece of the San Francisco defense, which entered Sunday tied for the sixth-best mark in the league for points allowed per game (19.6) under defensive coordinator and former Jets head coach Robert Saleh.

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